Blog : BOARD TALK

There's nothing quite like 'walking the walk' - instead of 'talking the talk.'

This might well pose translation problems out of English as it is wonderul this blog has always had a global audience... but, hey - that seems to be the least of the problems on governance that abound. 'Walking the walk' means doing what you say you intend to do.

Before those who are disgruntled decide to troll me on Twitter (attention Tim Bush and any other analysts @PIRC ) and/or Stephen Bouvier aka @secret_ledger erstwhile on Twitter.

That is all a bit of a farce as in true British fashion everyone i know in this space has long known who he is on Twitter but not one person has called him out no matter how foul the tweets....apparently because when men are 'clever', all other personality dysfunction (like basic manners )are ignored, if you are British? Moving on...

No, I am not in the pocket of the regulators. If you search this space or even Google me you will find a record of me speaking my mind. ) Also - please consider, anyone reading this: i too, have written up little blogs with stories that the great 'without fear and without favour' FT, in its wisdom, chose not to cover even when handed the story.

So, instead of worrying about coverage from the solo, self-employed journalist, how about worrying about how stuff gets covered in the mainstream media? Did you seriously think there is no correlation between lobbying and visibility of story placement in the nationals?

There's nothing ike a free press, right? And then there is bullying: currently, in my view, a serious problem in Britain on lots of levels.

So... with that very lengthy caveat, am delighted to see that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published targets for the Women in Finance Charter, which it signed in June 2016.

As a commitment to diversity in senior roles, the FCA has also announced its Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME) targets for 2020 and 2025. This comes as part of its continued commitment to diversity and inclusion.

The FCA says it aims to ensure that:

· 45% of the FCA Senior Leadership Team will identify as female by 2020, and 50% by 2025

· 8% of the FCA Senior Leadership Team will identify as BAME by 2020, and 13% by 2025

"Every day we make judgements and decisions that impact almost everyone in the UK so it’s vital that our people reflect the society that we serve. I am proud of the FCA’s work to date on diversity. Setting targets for the FCA Senior Leadership Team to be representative of the female and BAME UK populations is a logical next step" said Andrew Bailey, CEO.

“I believe that we are nothing without our people, and a workplace which combines talented people and diverse backgrounds is the best sort. Encouraging diverse attitudes and opinions in our daily work makes us a stronger and more effective regulator” he added.

Know what? I agree - and to be honest, why would you not agree?

Finally, and apologes for the repetition - No money has changed hands here for this post to happen.

But with all the bad news on my telly and yours tonight, I like clutching at the idea that we do have recourse to forces that intend better business, even if they don't always get it right.

That is what I think, and I am quite comfortable about how I got to the point where I can say that. But do google me at Forbes on the subject of race representation.